LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 Grand Prix Winner Announced

May 12, 2022

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 Grand Prix Winner AnnouncedPoh Yun Ru's 'Rewind'―a tech solution for a social issue―wins 10th edition of the award from among 1,726 entries

• Grand Prix of LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 "Rewind"
• Poh Yun Ru (Grand Prix Winner)

TOKYO, Japan (May 12, 2022)―Lexus announced today that "Rewind" by Poh Yun Ru has been selected by the judging panel as the Grand Prix winner of the 2022 LEXUS DESIGN AWARD, the award's tenth edition, which drew 1,726 entries from 57 countries and regions.

The LEXUS DESIGN AWARD was established in 2013 with the mission of supporting and nurturing creators early in their careers to help shape a better future and enhance the happiness for all through design, while articulating the Lexus brand's three core principles: Anticipate, Innovate, and Captivate. The Grand Prix winner "Rewind" contributes to a better tomorrow by using technology to help people stimulate their memories when their recall ability is challenged, for example by dementia.

The six finalists selected this January spent three months developing their original proposals and creating prototypes under the enthusiastic and highly skilled guidance of Sam Baron, Joe Doucet, Yosuke Hayano and Sabine Marcelis. Mentoring by the world's leading creators was a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience for these young talents. This process facilitated the impressive evolution of the finalists' projects, not to mention that of the Grand Prix work, "Rewind."

Poh Yun Ru commented: "I feel immensely grateful that Rewind is now a step closer to improving the lives of more people. This couldn't have happened without the unwavering support of my mentors, my team of dedicated engineers, programmers, healthcare experts, and users. This opportunity from LEXUS DESIGN AWARD to turn a project into a real-world product felt nothing short of amazing, and I feel heartened to have met and learned from so many passionate designers from around the world. It has been such a rewarding and inspiring journey, and I am excited to continue designing for a better world and a better tomorrow for all."

In a new benefit for 2022, the finalists met one-on-one with the design world's elite panel of judges: Paola Antonelli, Anupama Kundoo, Bruce Mau and Simon Humphries following the 10th LEXUS DESIGN AWARD event. After the judging session, the finalists received not only direct feedback on their work, but also career advice and tips for improvement. This beta-feature of the 10th anniversary LEXUS DESIGN AWARD turned out to be an extraordinarily valuable experience.

After the judging session, all four judges provided comments.

Paola Antonelli told of the overall importance of design in today's world: "The LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 finalists offer a wide range of products in different fields of design, employing different types of technology, but they all have one thing in common: care. Care for the environment, care for the elderly and differently able, care for the needs of families and communities, and more. They demonstrate that at a time of emergency in the world, design can offer suggestions that are poetic and beautiful, and also feasible and scalable. In the hands of great designers, doing the right thing―by society, the environment, the world―also becomes inspiring and elating."

Anupama Kundoo and Bruce Mau commented on the Award's feature of mentorship: "I particularly enjoyed the unique feature of the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD, namely, that the talented visionary designers are first identified, and then supported personally in their further development through dedicated mentorship." Kundoo said, while Mau commented, "The LEXUS DESIGN AWARD's process, where the finalists are connected to design mentors, is absolutely brilliant. And the impact was plainly evident in the final submissions."

Simon Humphries praised all finalists for their creativity and imagination in addressing the judging criteria: "The power of creativity and its ability to enrich people's lives never ceases to amaze me and this year's entries only reinforced this further. Congratulations to all the finalists who showed such imaginative insights into challenging problems that many just take for granted."

The six LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 finalists' projects will be shown at Lexus exhibit during Milan Design Week 2022, the world's largest design event, to be held in June.

For more information, please visit LEXUS DESIGN AWARD.com

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 FINALISTS

Title of workChitofarm

Chitofarm is an innovative new mealworm-powered biodigester that facilitates a simple and beautiful natural process to solve the man-made problem of polystyrene foam waste. This localized solution puts the power of change into the hands of the individual with the help of a small, but mighty, creature: the mealworm.

The original proposal used mealworm exoskeletons to make a biodegradable packaging material, while farming the mealworms to produce a low-impact protein source. Through mentoring sessions, Böhning & Lempres expanded Chitofarm into a social ecosystem with a global perspective.

NameCharlotte Böhning & Mary Lempres

CountryDual USA - Germany (Charlotte Böhning)
Dual USA - Norway (Mary Lempres)
Based in USA

Charlotte Böhning & Mary Lempres are classmates pursuing their Master's of Industrial Design at the Pratt Institute. They have respective backgrounds in development and behavioral economics, chemistry, and fine art. Their collaborative design practice is centered on material-driven innovation, empathic technologies, and human-centric factors.

Title of workHammock Wheelchair

By combining features of a wheelchair, forklift, and hammock, caregivers can move and transfer patients without having to manually lift them. A cloth acts as a pallet, while the wheelchair with 2 prongs acts like a forklift.

Through mentoring, Wondaleaf not only enhanced the product's functionality, they also made the Hammock Wheelchair more user friendly and added color and texture to raise its emotional appeal.

NameWondaleaf (Alex Wong, Reuben Tang,Louis Tang,Wong Ping Ming,John Tang,Lau Yien Yienand Sii How Sing)

CountryMalaysia

The team members of Wondaleaf are part of a medical device innovation company. Each member specializes in different aspects of the design and production process. After some team members had difficulty caring for patients after running a nursing home, they partnered to design a device to assist caregivers and patients at these facilities.

Title of workIna Vibe

Ina Vibe is a solar-powered, insulated electric burner with a battery pack for charging and lighting. This enables you to cook, power, and light in a way that is sustainable, environmentally beneficial, and healthful.

Initially the idea for Ina Vibe was to use hydrogen as the power source. But the mentoring sessions led to a significant change: Team Dunamis switched to solar power generation to more effectively use nature's power. This also simplifies use where the power supply is unstable.

NameTeam Dunamis (Obasogie Okpamen,Obasogie Osasumwen,Anastacia Amadi,Uwague Aizeyosaboand Omolehin Emmanuel)

CountryNigeria

Team Dunamis is a group of five graduates of Engineering and Business Management from Landmark University and Rivers State University in Nigeria. They are passionate about creating energy solutions, human-centered products and systems geared towards transforming their continent for the better. They aim to be a beacon for hope in their communities.

Title of workRewind

Designed to evoke memories, Rewind uses a motion-tracking tool that guides seniors with dementia in re-enacting familiar gestures. These actions are then reflected as audio-visual feedback on a paired device that triggers recollection.

Through the mentoring sessions, Rewind evolved by giving greater consideration to usability and hygiene. Poh also broadened the range of scenarios that evoke memories. Dementia is a challenge faced by societies all around the world - by focusing on accessibility and ease of adoption, Rewind was transformed into an even more practical proposal.

NamePoh Yun Ru

CountrySingapore

Poh Yun Ru is a socially engaged product designer who seeks to create a positive impact on society by improving the lives of others. Living in a culturally rich and diverse society, she sees design as a methodology to develop intuitive and inclusive solutions for people from all walks of life.

Title of workSound Eclipse

Installed in front of half-open windows, the microphone on the back of Sound Eclipse captures noise, while speakers emit sound waves of identical amplitude to the original noise but of inverted phase. These waves combine and cancel each other out.

Initially Sound Eclipse was a relatively simple noise canceling device. Mentoring led Kristil & Shamina to improve the proposal by exploring the balance of sounds encountered in daily life.

NameKristil & Shamina (Kristina Loginova and Shamil Sahabiev)

CountryRussia

Shamil Sahabiev is an industrial designer who has also worked as a concept artist, contributing his designs to multiple video game titles, including games for VR. Kristina Loginova, as a product manager, has helped to turn many creative ideas into profitable businesses. Together they are now focused on industrial design with the goal of creating things that benefit society and bring the future closer.

Title of workTacomotive

Tacomotive is a new haptic language. Through the tactile sensations created by the cut structures, it delivers information sensorily, more akin to color than text. In the future, it will facilitate tactile communication.

Initially this was proposed as a driving simulator for people with visual and aural challenges. Through mentoring, Mikuni expanded Tacomotive into a haptic language, a non-verbal, sensory communication tool with wide application.

NameKou Mikuni

CountryJapan

Kou Mikuni graduated the Department of Integrated Science (natural science) at the University of Tokyo, and studied design at the School of Engineering (mechanical engineering) of the same university. Given his deep interest in human emotions and in nature, he aspires to introduce designs that will someday illuminate various corners of the world.

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 PANEL OF JUDGES

Paola Antonelli

Senior Curator for the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA, NY

Paola Antonelli is Senior Curator of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art, as well as MoMA's founding Director of Research & Development. Her goal is to promote design's understanding, until its positive influence on the world is universally acknowledged. Her work investigates design's impact on everyday experience, often including overlooked objects and practices, and combining design, architecture, art, science, and technology.

She has curated shows, written books, lectured worldwide, and taught in several schools, including Harvard and UCLA. Among her most recent exhibitions are Broken Nature, devoted to the idea of restorative design (conceived as the XXII Triennale di Milano) and Material Ecology, on the groundbreaking work of architect Neri Oxman. She is currently working on several new sessions of her MoMA R&D Salons; on the exhibition Never Alone, about interactive design and videogames; and on the Instagram series @design.emergency, conceived with design critic Alice Rawsthorn and devoted to the role of design in the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. Alice and Paola's book, Design Emergency, will be published in May 2022.

Anupama Kundoo

Architect / Founder of Anupama Kundoo Architects

Anupama Kundoo graduated from University of Mumbai in 1989 and received her PhD degree from the TU Berlin in 2008. Her research-oriented practice has generated people centric architecture based on spatial and material research for low environmental impact while being socio-economically beneficial. Her body of works was recently exhibited as a solo show 'Taking Time' at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark in Spring of 2021. She has taught Architecture and Urban Management at various international universities strengthening her expertise in rapid urbanization and climate change related development issues, and was the Davenport Visiting Professor at Yale University in Spring 2020.

She is currently Professor at Potsdam School of Architecture, Germany and the winner of the 2021 Auguste Perret Prize for her contribution to architectural technologies and the 2021 recipient of the RIBA Charles Jencks Award.

Bruce Mau

Co-Founder & CEO, Massive Change Network

Designer, author, educator, artist and entrepreneur Bruce Mau practices a holistic life-centered design approach grounded in empathy and fact-based optimism to help clients and collaborators envision and articulate their purpose and future. Across thirty years of design innovation, he's worked with global brands and companies, leading organizations, heads of state, renowned artists and fellow optimists. He became an international figure with the publication of S,M,L,XL, designed and co-authored with Rem Koolhaas. His most recent book, Mau: MC24―Bruce Mau's 24 Principles for Designing Massive Change in Your Life and Work, offers readers a mindset and toolkit that can be applied to any type of challenge at any scale to create impact and positive transformation.

Simon Humphries

Head of Toyota & Lexus Global Design

Simon Humphries is Head of Toyota & Lexus Global Design. He was appointed to oversee design for both brands in 2018. As Head of Lexus Global Design Humphries seeks to define Lexus' unique values in the form of a brand philosophy, incorporating a clear cultural reference to Lexus' Japanese heritage and building a design direction that is relevant to users around the world.

Humphries joined the company in 1994. His many roles in leadership and advanced design include defining the signature spindle grille that has become an icon for the Lexus brand. In 2016 he became President of ED2 (Toyota Europe Design Development) where his team spearheaded development of mobility concepts such as the Toyota e-Palette concept as part of the brand's transition from "automotive company" to "mobility company." Humphries began his career in design in 1988 when he was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Bursary Prize for Product Design in the UK. The award gave him the opportunity to work for Sony, which jumpstarted his passion for living and working in Japan. In his spare time Humphries enjoys carpentry and is restoring a 100-year-old Japanese farmhouse.

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2022 PANEL OF MENTORS

Sam Baron

Designer / Creative Director, Sam Baron & Co

A visionary creative leader, Sam Baron creates products and experiences, giving life to cross-over works mixing art and design that drive innovative ideas from concept to completion. His work touches many fields across hospitality, retail, design, fashion, and culture. From a global perspective, Baron leads sophisticated initiatives that create an experience for some of the world's leading brands. For a decade, he has been a consultant as Design director for Fabrica, an international communication research center based in Italy.

In 2009 Baron received the "Grand Prix de la Creation de la Ville de Paris" in the design category, and in 2010 Philippe Starck selected him as one of the ten important designers of the next decade. His work is continuously featured in the international press, and included in international museum collections. Recently Sam has been awarded the special PAD Paris fair prize. Sam Baron currently lives and works between Portugal and France.

Joe Doucet

Founder, Joe Doucet x Partners

A designer, entrepreneur, inventor and creative director, Joe Doucet is one of the most sought-after creative talents working in America today. His work deftly hybridizes function and visual appeal while conveying layers of meaning and message. Doucet believes that design and, more importantly, a designer's thought process can play a larger role in innovation and problem solving, as well as aesthetics. He currently holds numerous patents for his designs and inventions.

Doucet's work has been exhibited globally and has received numerous international awards, including a World Technology Award for Design Innovation and multiple Good Design Awards. Doucet was named the 2017 Winner of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award as Product Designer―the highest honor in his field. He is also Designer of the Year 2019 finalist by Dezeen, and a recipient of Fast Company's Most Important Design Companies of 2019.

Yosuke Hayano

Principal Partner, MAD Architects

Yosuke Hayano, an architect from Japan, is principal partner of MAD Architects based in Beijing, China. MAD is led by Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, and Yosuke and it is committed to developing futuristic, organic, technologically advanced designs that embody a contemporary interpretation of the Eastern affinity for nature. With a vision for the city of the future based in the spiritual and emotional needs of residents, MAD endeavors to create a balance between humanity, the city, and the environment.

Yosuke has been the winner of several high-profile awards, including the Architecture League of New York Young Architects Award (2006), the Design for Asia Award (2011), and the Kumamoto Artpolis Award (2011). He served as a visiting lecturer at the Waseda Art and Architecture School from 2008 to 2012, and at Tokyo University from 2010 to 2012. In addition, he acted as an external examiner at the Architectural Association of London from 2015 to 2019.

Sabine Marcelis

Designer / Founder, Studio Sabine Marcelis

Sabine Marcelis is a Dutch designer who runs her practice from the harbor of Rotterdam. After graduating from the Design Academy of Eindhoven in 2011, Marcelis began working as an independent designer within the fields of product, installation and spatial design with a strong focus on materiality. Her work is characterized by pure forms which highlight material properties.

Marcelis applies a strong aesthetic point of view to her collaborations with industry specialists. This method of working allows her to intervene in the manufacturing process, using material research and experimentation to achieve new and surprising visual effects for projects both showcased in musea and commissioned by commercial clients and fashion houses.

Sabine recently won the prestigious Wallpaper awards 'Designer of the year 2020', The Elle Deco International Design award 2019 'Young designer of the year' and 'GQ Men of the year 2019' International Artist of the year.

ABOUT LEXUS

Lexus launched in 1989 with a flagship sedan and a guest experience that helped define the premium automotive industry. In 1998, Lexus introduced the luxury crossover category with the launch of the Lexus RX. The luxury hybrid sales leader, Lexus delivered the world's first luxury hybrid in 2006, and has since sold over 2.02 million hybrid vehicles.

A global luxury automotive brand with an unwavering commitment to bold, uncompromising design, exceptional craftsmanship, and exhilarating performance, Lexus has developed its lineup to meet the needs of the next generation of global luxury guests, and is currently available in over 90 countries/regions worldwide.

Lexus associates/team members across the world are dedicated to crafting amazing experiences that are uniquely Lexus, and that excite and change the world.

ABOUT LEXUS DESIGN AWARD

Launched in 2013, the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD is an international competition for up-and-coming creators from around the world. The Award seeks to contribute to society by supporting designers and creators whose work shows potential to shape a better future. Six finalists gain a rare opportunity to prototype their designs under the mentorship of leading designers. The LEXUS DESIGN AWARD provides global media exposure to drive professional career advancement.

Toyota Motor Corporation works to develop and manufacture innovative, safe and high-quality products and services that create happiness by providing mobility for all. We believe that true achievement comes from supporting our customers, partners, employees, and the communities in which we operate. Since our founding over 80 years ago in 1937, we have applied our Guiding Principles in pursuit of a safer, greener and more inclusive society. Today, as we transform into a mobility company developing connected, automated, shared and electrified technologies, we also remain true to our Guiding Principles and many of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to help realize an ever-better world, where everyone is free to move.